On April 13, the 55 foot long towboat Charley Wallace sank on the Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois. Reports state the towboat had over 1000 gallons of diesel fuel on board when it completely sank on the river. Authorities state a sheen can be seen above the wreck. The Coast Guard has dispatched an unit from Paducah to the scene. No reports of injuries. The incident is under investigation.
On April 6, the 97 meter long cargo vessel Da Pu Jiang sank off Zhejiang Province, China. The cargo vessel was headed for Wufu from Caofeidian when it sank in waters near Ningbo, China.
Authorities launched a search and rescue operation. A rescue vessel and arrived to find 10 of the 13 crew on board had been able to abandoned ship into the vessel’s life raft. A helicopter located two more crew men in the water and hoisted them to safety. Rescuers later discovered the body of the remaining crewman in the water.
The cause of the sinking has not been disclosed.
On March 25, the 61 foot long fishing vessel Princess Hawaii sank 400 miles north of the coast of Hawaii. The longliner was fishing when it was struck by a rogue wave. The wave swamped the Princess Hawaii and knocking several crew overboard into the water. The crew launched the vessel’s life raft and sent out a distress call.
The Coast Guard along with nearby fishing vessels responded to the scene. The fishing vessel Commander arrived on scene 12 hours later and pulled all 8 crew to safety. No reports of injuries. The Commander was reported to be headed for Honolulu and arrive in a few days.
Reports state there was an observer from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on board the Princess Hawaii at the time of the sinking. The Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the incident.